A Helping Hand
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: With Du Plessie out of action and Danny still struggling following the lion attack the future of Leopard's Den hangs precariously in the balance - could a visit and a surprise offer from an old friend help change all that?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Hibbit!" Danny smiled in surprise as Nomsa showed the Trevanion's visitor into the living room one hot summer's morning. The vet was sitting with his leg propped up against the coffee table, his wife Sarah tucked under his arm where he'd wrapped her into a light and loving embrace. Her head was nestled into his chest. It had only been two weeks since Danny and Du Plessie had been discharged from the hospital after the recent lion attack, and although rare to find the vet taking advantage of such a moment of rest and relaxation, his injuries and bruising were still sore, and he'd been making more of an effort to find more time to take it easy. "This is a surprise." He smiled, as he got rather stiffly to his feet, and made his way over, hand extended in greeting.

"I hope you don't mind the interruption Danny." Hibbet smiled, accepting his outreached hand as he shook it, pleased to see his old friend looking so well under the circumstances. "I probably should have called before turning up." He explained. "But I heard about what happened and…"

"Don't mention it." Danny reassured him however. "You're welcome here anytime."

"Who's this?" Sarah asked as she came up beside her husband, wrapping her arm in a gesture of both affection and protection around his waist as she approached.

Danny faltered. "Sarah." He grinned. "This is Hibbet, an old friend!" He then turned back to their guest. "This is Sarah my wife." He explained.

"Pleased to meet you." Hibbet smiled and it was now their turn to shake hands, Sarah's smile an expression of immediate welcome and acceptance.

With this Nomsa quietly departed, not before managing to subtly catch Danny's attention however. "I'll bring in some iced tea and lemonade," She suggested, "and there's some fresh fruit buns cooling in the kitchen."

"Thanks Nomsa." Danny smiled. "That is unless you'd prefer something stronger?" He offered Hibbet.

"Iced tea would be just fine." The other man nodded, before adding a 'thank you' to Nomsa. It was a gesture of polite gratitude and the older woman nodded in acknowledgment before vacating the room.

"I'll just go and tell my mum we have visitor's." Sarah excused herself, before, as the two were left alone, Hibbet turned back to Danny again.

"I'm sorry." He apologised. "How are you?"

"Well, better than Du Plessie." Danny explained. "It was very touch and go for a while, but he's pulled through, the tough old mule. He'll be unable to work for months though. He bore the fullest brunt of the attack."

Hibbet's head bowed regretfully as he heard this. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "I heard he'd been ill, I hoped it wasn't anything too serious."

"Angina." Danny told him. "He didn't really stand a chance when Hobe attacked us. But he's a proud man, and he's doing much better now, making a nice steady recovery, the doctor's are very pleased with him."

"Hang on, Hobe?" Hibbet frowned. He'd heard that the two had been attacked by a lion, but it had never occurred to him that it might have been Hobe.

"Caroline, and you are?" The pair turned as they were suddenly interrupted by another, older, female voice.

"Caroline." Danny acknowledged her politely. "This is Hibbet, an old friend. Hibbet, this is Caroline, my mother-in-law. She's the one we have to thank for keeping a close eye on Du Plessie." He smiled.

"And it would be easier to keep tabs on a sick mule." She laughed.

Hibbet smiled. "Where is the old man?" He asked her.

"In bed." Caroline explained. "At least he was when I left him a moment ago."

"Can I see him?" Hibbet asked. "Is he up to visitors?"

"Of course." Danny nodded. "Caroline, could you show him to Du Plessie's room please?" He asked her.

She smiled, and nodded, before beckoning for Hibbet to follow her. "Come on, this way." She told him, and Danny followed behind them both as Caroline led Hibbet down the hall towards Du Plessie's room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As Hibbet entered Du Plessie's room he saw the man struggling to get out of bed from over Caroline's shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing Andres?" She exclaimed as she immediately hurried over to his side of the bed. Before he could even protest she'd grabbed the man's legs, lifted them back onto the mattress and covered him over again. He could tell by how swiftly she handled the situation that she'd evidently had a lot of experience trying to keep the stubborn man confined to his bed.

"What does it look like I'm doing woman?" Du Plessie protested. "I'm getting up, I'm bored stiff lying here!"

"You're supposed to be resting!" Caroline stated, scoldingly.

"Rubbish woman, nothing wrong with me." He snapped, attempting to get out of bed again. Hibbet smiled as Caroline pushed him back down onto the mattress again and folded her arms. She looked down at him disapprovingly, eyebrows raised, and Du Plessie finally had to admit defeat.

"Besides you have a visitor." She explained, as she settled him back down again, fluffing his pillows and tucking his sheets tightly around him, much to Du Plessie's obvious annoyance.

"Oh, who?" He asked.

"Hello Du Plessie." Hibbet smiled in greeting as he stepped forward into the room - his presence, which had previously gone unnoticed by the older man, now acknowledged as Du Plessie frowned in surprise to see the man standing in the doorway.

"Hibbet?" He asked.

"We'll leave you to it." Danny told them, as Caroline made to leave - satisfied that the man now wouldn't be tempted to make another escape attempt for at least the next half an hour. Du Plessie nodded, and as the vet and the mother-in-law departed she closed the door quietly behind them.

The two men stood in silence for a moment before Hibbet finally broke the silence between them. "I should have called before visiting." He told him, apologetically. "I just heard what happened, and…"

"It's alright." Du Plessie sighed. "You don't have to explain… thank you." He nodded.

Hibbet smiled, and, now firmly reassured of his welcome, began to make his way over. "How are you feeling?" He asked him.

"As I said, nothing wrong with me." Du Plessie laughed. "Nothing a bottle of the old tonic couldn't fix at any rate." He sighed.

"Tonic?" Hibbet frowned.

"Beer!" Du Plessie explained. "If she didn't keep taking it away from me that is." He complained, gesturing towards the closed door to indicate Caroline. "I don't know what her problem is. She knows all my hiding places. I hide it, she finds it.

Hibbet chuckled, and for a moment it was nice to hear some genuine good humour coming from someone. It made a welcome change to the tension and general feeling of stress and anxiety which seemed to have descended over Leopard's Den and infected its inhabitants recently. This gesture too was only brief though, as the man's laughter abruptly ceased and his expression fell into one of regret and melancholy. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "Danny told me it was Hobe who attacked you."

"Don't even go there…" Du Plessie warned him, sensing the sudden change in their conversation. "These things happen. It could have been any lion."

"Even so…" Hibbet faltered.

"Hobe's a good boy." Du Plessie stated finally. "He's been raised well. You have nothing to feel responsible for."

Suddenly the conversation was disrupted as Caroline returned in a hurry however, her expression worried and her demeanour frantic. Du Plessie's heart immediately dropped into the pit of his stomach as he observed the look on her face and realised that something was very wrong.

"Danny's just had a report of poachers in the area." She explained. "He needs to get all the animals back and in the holding pens as soon as possible."

"He won't be able to do that by himself." Du Plessie told her. "That's a big job. There's too many of them!"

"I'll go with him." Hibbet offered.

Seeing Du Plessie's expression and realising what he was thinking Caroline made sure to put an immediate stop to the cogs currently turning in his mind. "Not you Du Plessie. You're supposed to be resting!"

Du Plessie let out a mildly disgruntled groan with this. Hibbet smiled.

"I'll see you later!" He called as he hurried attentively from the room, recognising the urgency of the situation as he heard Danny's pressing shout to the rest of the family from down the hallway. Du Plessie meanwhile glared amillion sharp implements in Caroline's direction.

"And there's no point you looking at me like that Anders!" She responded, unfazed by the look he gave her. "You need to rest, that's final!"

Du Plessie sighed, inwardly fuming at Caroline's maddening grin as she left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Later that same evening the entire family and Hibbet sat around the dinging table on the veranda, overlooking the beautiful Southern African landscape. It had taken Danny, Hibbet and a team of obliging locals half the day to gather all of their stock in safely, but Nomsa had been ready with iced tea, homemade lemonade and cake when they had finally all returned home shortlh after sunset. Both men had been hungry, exhausted and streaked with dirt and sweat. Now they were feasting on steak and potatoes with a mixed green salad - a meal fit to satisfy all of their raging appetites. Evan and Olivia had finally been retired to bed - much to the children's dismay - and the conversation had turned to the subject of Leopard's Den's inevitable plight with the poachers.

Danny sighed.

"There's going to be many more reports of poachers in the area as news gets around that we're short staffed here at the moment." He explained. "More people are going to start taking advantage!"

Du Plessie nodded in agreement as Hibbet glanced from one to the other. "Yeah, but what are we going to do about it?" The older man demanded. "What can we be expected to do? We haven't got the money to employ anymore staff!"

"Blood pressure!" Caroline warned him, and Du Plessie scowled.

Danny shook his head. "I don't know Dupe." He confessed. "You're still too ill to return to work... and… to be completely honest, I'm still not up to taking on the extra work either… I just don't know…"

"I can help!" Hibbet immediately offered, and to his great discomfort suddenly found all eyes were turned upon him.

"You Hibbet?" Danny asked quizzically. "How do you mean?"

"Spending the day with you today Danny has made me see just how much you lot could do with a helping hand around this place at the moment." He explained. "You do a fantastic job, but things aren't easy even at the best of times, and I know from experience just how trying and wearing that can be… the fact is that you can't continue on like this forever, and who knows when Du Plessie will be fit enough to resume his normal duties… you need help to run this place and keep it from going under." He concluded "And I'd hate to see a place as magnificent as this go under just because you're a little short staffed at the moment!"

"So how could you help us Hibbet?" Danny asked, intonation vaguely hopeful. He tried to disguise his tone, but found it impossible as his friend's words offered Leopard's Den renewed hope of some sort of salvation.

"I came here today because I'd heard what had happened, and to see if there was anything I could do…" Hibbet explained. "I can take some time off, help you run this place… just until Dupe is back on his feet again…"

Danny smiled. "This is very kind of you Hibbet… but you heard what Du Plessie said… we couldn't afford to pay you…" He explained.

"I'm not asking for money Danny!" Hibbet responded.

"Then why?" It was Du Plesie's turn to ask the questions.

"Because you're good people." Hibbet turned to the man he'd once hated, but now felt blessed to be able to call his friend. "You're good, decent people, doing a good job here, and although I didn't know it, you did me a great favour all those years ago… a favour which I'd like to at least go some way in trying repay… that is, if you'll have me?" He asked.

"Have you? Of course we'll have you!" Danny beamed, unable to contain his sheer relief and joy. "If you're sure…"

"Oh, I'm sure." Hibbet smiled.

Danny's smile widened into a grin and he turned to look at Du Plesie. "Dupe?" He asked.

"Well… I suppose we could do with the extra help." The older man admitted finally, somewhat less enthusiastic however. It wasn't that he was ungrateful to the man for his offer, nor that he was adverse to having an extra pair of hands on board for a few weeks. Danny was still recuperating himself, and would need all the help he could get if he was going to keep the busisness afloat and not compromise the animal's safety in his absense. But he was a proud man, and it pained him to have to admit to himself that old age was finally catching up with him, and his body wasn't what it had once been. "Not that I'm saying I'm past it… or anything of the sort!" He made sure to point out. "This is only tempory!"

"Perish the thought old man!" Danny laughed, and shook his head. He still couldn't believe that after everything they'd been through Du Plessie could be so hung up on the idea of people thinking he wasn't up to the job anymore. The day Du Plessie left Leopard's Den would be the day their world crumbled around them.

"Hey, less of the old!" Du Plessie protested, although there was a note of good humour in his voice, and all three men as well as Sarah, Caroline and Nomsa, couldn't help but smile.

"Then welcome to the team!" Danny turned to address Hibbet first, before acknowledging the whole group. "I think this calls for a toast!" He said.

"May I do the honours?" The newest member of the team asked as the five adults around the table raised their glasses, and Sarah passed Nomsa an empty one, topping it up carefully with the alcoholic liquid.

"Oh, be my guest." Danny invited.

"To Leopard's Den." Hibbet proposed, and he raised the crystal clear goblet in his hand.

"To Leopard's Den." They all chorused, and the chink of glasses was met with a chorus of laughter in their mutual relief that the immediate future of Leopard's Den looked a lot more certain, thanks to the kindness of an old friend.


End file.
